Tom's not Petty over Sam Smith

Sam Smith's lets-call-it-an-unwitting-tribute to Tom Petty's I Won't Back Down, Stay With Me, has led to Petty making a generous statement on his website:

About the Sam Smith thing. Let me say I have never had any hard feelings toward Sam. All my years of songwriting have shown me these things can happen. Most times you catch it before it gets out the studio door but in this case it got by. Sam’s people were very understanding of our predicament and we easily came to an agreement. The word lawsuit was never even said and was never my intention. And no more was to be said about it. How it got out to the press is beyond Sam or myself. Sam did the right thing and I have thought no more about this. A musical accident no more no less. In these times we live in this is hardly news. I wish Sam all the best for his ongoing career. Peace and love to all.

The generosity of the statement almost certainly matched by the generosity of the private settlement.

But there's something ever so slightly tart about the phrase "Sam's people", gently conjuring the image of grown-ups in suits tidying up.